Tried to compost in my tiny apartment and 3 months later still have no usable dirt

I live in a 500 sq ft place in Portland and thought a little countertop bin would be easy. Been turning it, adding browns, checking moisture. It just sits there like a science experiment that didn't work. Anyone else find indoor composting takes forever or am I missing something obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

morganmartinez5d ago

That "science experiment that didn't work" line hit home. My buddy Dave tried the same thing in his studio. The bin got this weird fuzzy mold that smelled like a wet sock left in a gym bag for a month. He kept adding more shredded paper and coffee grounds, thinking he could fix it. After 4 months he gave up and dumped the whole mess into a community garden plot. He said it was mostly just sticky clumps with some sad looking worms stuck in it. The garden people were not thrilled.

lucast815d ago

Dave's mistake was adding too much brown material, not too little.

harperp245d ago

Oh man, that is EXACTLY what happened to me. I spent like 5 months on mine and it just turned into this gross, slimy mud that smelled like a dumpster behind a coffee shop. Finally gave up and tossed it in the backyard of my old apartment building - pretty sure the raccoons had a field day with it.